Comments Sought on Draft EIS for Southline Transmission Line Project

Las Cruces, NM – Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Western Area Power Administration (Western) released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Southline Transmission Line Project.

Southline Transmission, LLC (Southline), proposes building a 360-mile line from near Las Cruces, New Mexico to Tucson, Arizona. The line would cross BLM-managed public land, state land, and private property. Southline indicates that the line would improve reliability of the electrical grid and help facilitate renewable energy markets in the region.

With the release of the Draft EIS, the BLM and Western are commencing a 90-day comment period. The comment period will end on July 10, 2014. Members of the public will have the opportunity to learn about and comment on the proposed project at a series of public meetings in New Mexico and Arizona.

The public meetings will be held from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the following locations:

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's mission is to manage and conserve the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations under our mandate of multiple-use and sustained yield. In Fiscal Year 2013, the BLM generated $4.7 billion in receipts from public lands.